A sudden discharge of static electricity or electrostatic discharge (ESD) may occur which can damage electronic devices, such as integrated circuits. To prevent damage to the device, ESD protection circuits are implemented. The ESD protection circuit dissipates ESD current during an ESD event.
However, conventional ESD protection circuits may be prone to latch-up. Latch-up is the creation of an undesirable current path between rails, such as VDD and ground, which causes large amounts of current to be drawn from the power supply. Latch-up may cause circuit malfunction and/or irreversible damage to the IC.
The disclosure is directed to a latch-up free ESD protection module.